nicktomjoe's review against another edition
4.0
I’m really reviewing an earlier edition with the Bentley illustrations, a 1977 reprint of the 1940 ‘album edition.’
There is a deeply subversive element to these that reminds me sharply of the Saki “unsuitable story” where conventional morality is looked at with a cynical eye: the little girl who fails to pay attention to a “beware of the bull” sign - and meets a bull, which “confirmed in her instinctive guess that literature breeds distress;” or that Oxford “serves to make a kind of Fold or Pen wherein to herd a lot of Learned Men.” Funny, with a ponderous tone that adds to the delight, they are perhaps dated for the modern reader, but still contain joys such as “Maria Who Made Faces and a Deplorable Marriage.” Bizarre topsy-turvy of over-moralistic children’s lit:
“Just you work for Humanity, never you mind
If Humanity seems to have left you behind.”
There is a deeply subversive element to these that reminds me sharply of the Saki “unsuitable story” where conventional morality is looked at with a cynical eye: the little girl who fails to pay attention to a “beware of the bull” sign - and meets a bull, which “confirmed in her instinctive guess that literature breeds distress;” or that Oxford “serves to make a kind of Fold or Pen wherein to herd a lot of Learned Men.” Funny, with a ponderous tone that adds to the delight, they are perhaps dated for the modern reader, but still contain joys such as “Maria Who Made Faces and a Deplorable Marriage.” Bizarre topsy-turvy of over-moralistic children’s lit:
“Just you work for Humanity, never you mind
If Humanity seems to have left you behind.”
summerashley's review against another edition
A collection of tales that dive into the mind of a child and demonstrate what happens to naughty children. A more relevant version that is comparable to books such as Struwwelpeter.
yetilibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Read it for the illustrations (I know that doesn’t make sense). Gorey was the perfect choice to illustrate this collection, and his art elevates Belloc’s verse.
thesaltiestlibrarian's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ettegoom's review against another edition
4.0
Yay! My favourite illustrator, mixed with hilarious poems by Hillaire Belloc!
tw1tch's review against another edition
5.0
You can bet I'm getting my kids a copy of this as soon as they can read.
5elementknitr's review against another edition
5.0
What a delight!
As wonderfully disturbing as per usual for Mr. Gorey.
As wonderfully disturbing as per usual for Mr. Gorey.
antlersantlers's review against another edition
4.0
Humorous poems about child death + Edward Gorey. What's not to love?
pqimparfait's review against another edition
4.0
it's so amusing. but on reading out loud i felt the rhyming lines quite awkward. there was no musicality about it.